The piece of Charlton going to Wembley, and not in the play-offs

Ex-Charlton forward Kevin Lisbie heads to Wembley with Cray Valley PM

A little piece of Charlton will be going to Wembley next month even if Lee Bowyer’s side don’t get there.

On May 19 Cray Valley Paper Mills take on Chertsey Town in the FA Vase Trophy, and leading the line for the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division side is Kevin Lisbie.

A forward during the ‘golden years’ under Alan Curbishley at the start of the millennium, the Jamaican made over 150 appearances for the Addicks and now at the age of 40, he admits the curtain could finally come down on his 24-year career.

'Perfect way to finish'

“As I stand now if we won I’d probably think that’d be a perfect way to finish and a good send off on a big stage,” said the former Leyton Orient, Ipswich, Colchester and Millwall man.

“I need about a hundred tickets, everyone thinks I’ll be done, so this could be my last game.

“If my body tells me to stop, I’ll give up.

“At the moment my knees are a bit dodgy so I’m not going to be able to endure many more knocks or bumps, although I’m not sure my manager wants to hear me say that.

“Every centre back in the Kent league knows who I am because I played most of my career around here with Charlton and Orient.

“All the defenders are younger and fitter, but I like the challenge of putting myself up against those who want to prove themselves, that keeps me going.”

If those knees do give way and force Lisbie to finish the game, it won’t be the first time he would’ve called it a day.

Two years ago the 10-cap Jamaican international hung up his boots only to be convinced by old friend and Cray’s boss Kevin Watson to join the Kent club.

It’s safe to say that since Watson’s rally cry Lisbie hasn’t disappointed, netting 26 goals this season as the Millers look set for promotion.

But even the most optimistic of folk wouldn’t have envisaged a trip to Wembley, or in Lisbie’s case - a return to the national stadium.

“I never thought for a second I’d be going again,” he said referring to Leyton Orient’s penalty shootout heartbreak in the League One play-off against Rotherham in 2014.

“The trip probably means more to me than the rest of the team because two years ago I officially retired, so from thinking I’ll be playing local leagues and having a good time under no pressure, all of a sudden I’m back at Wembley!

“This competition put the club on the map and with my connections hopefully people will come down.

“The Chairman is looking to go up the divisions, so it may need a sprinkle of some old pro’s around the club.

“A lot of my old friends Chris Powell, Mark Bright, Carl Leaburn said they’ll come down so if I can get as many people to help out this club then great.”

Despite Lisbie insisting the side are fully focussed on gaining promotion this season, they currently sit top with two games to go, it’s only natural for him to think ahead to the Wembley fixture and the audience he’ll be performing for.

“The majority of fans will be ours, there’s a lot of Charlton and Orient fans coming down to watch and they’ve bought a lot of tickets in the Cray Valley end.

“Normally we play in front of 60 people, now it’ll be thousands, it’ll be a special occasion for us all.

“We’re a good team and we’ve a lot of experience, I think it’ll boil down to that.

“Myself and Gavin Tomlin have both played at Wembley before, so hopefully that experience will win it.”

“Promotion was the aim at the start of the season, but if we don’t achieve that it won’t take away from what we’ve done, there’s so many teams in the Vase, and we get to play at Wembley.

“It’s a massive achievement and it’ll be a great day out for us all.”

Lisbie runs a finishing school for kids, improving their ability to find the back of the net, so a fitting end for Lisbie would be hitting the winning goal for the Millers at Wembley, everyone in Kent will be hoping so.

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